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Planetarium to show "Season of Light"

November 15, 2012

Augustana College’s John Deere Planetarium (820 38th St.) will present its annual holiday program from Saturday, Dec. 8, to Friday, Dec. 14. The planetarium show “Season of Light” will be offered weekdays at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Admission is free and reservations are requested. For reservations, call (309) 794-7327 during weekday business hours.

“Season of Light” is a multimedia planetarium show led by Dr. Lee Carkner, planetarium director and associate professor of physics at Augustana. The show uses the planetarium sky projector, astronomical images, music and narration. “All of this is projected onto a 30-foot dome to tell the story of how our holiday traditions are connected to the sky above,” said Dr. Carkner.

December is the darkest month of the year, and people all over the world hold festivals, light candles and try to bring light to the darkness of the winter sky. “Our show explains the seasons and the winter constellations, and speculates about the Star of Bethlehem,” said Dr. Carkner.

Just outside the planetarium in the Getz-Rogers Gallery, full-color images from the Hubble Space Telescope and a quarter-ton piece of the Canyon Diablo meteor will be displayed with interpretive information. The nearby Fryxell Geology Museum also will be open to the public, on weekdays from 7:30-8:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

The planetarium’s doors will open 15 minutes before each show. Latecomers will not be admitted, and it is not recommended for children 7 years and younger.